Rajya Sabha loss on FDI would have led to call for PM Manmohan Singh's resignation

NEW DELHI: The UPA's comfortable win in the upper house may have provided more than just a psychological boost to the embattled government. A defeat in the Rajya Sabha, where the numbers were stacked in favour of the opposition, would have prompted demands for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation, senior Congress leaders told ET. This is because the prime minister is the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha and such a demand may have had some weight.

"Although there is no constitutional provision, a defeat on the FDI vote in the House would have given moral ground to the opposition to ask for the resignation of the leader," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury told ET.

Apprehending that this would indeed happen, Congress floor managers and senior leaders worked overtime to ensure the motion was defeated in the upper house. While UPA was confident that SP and BSP would abstain despite opposing the government's policy on FDI, the situation in Rajya Sabha was tougher with a small margin of just three votes.

Ravi Shankar Prasad, the deputy leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha and BJP national spokesman, said that the principal opposition party has already said the government does not have the moral right to continue. "Let me put a counter question, has the morality of the prime minister gone up after a win with the manipulation of the vote?" He avoided a direct answer as to whether BJP did indeed plan to ask for the PM's resignation.

Strong claims by BJP, notably by its leader in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, alleging that SP and BSP had helped UPA because of their fear that CBI would go after their leaders, made things easier for the ruling UPA. "We had to ensure at least one of our friendly parties voting against the motion moved by the opposition, once we sensed the risk," a Congress leader with direct knowledge of the developments said. "We got wind of the opposition strategy which was to demand the resignation of the leader of the house ( PM) if the vote failed," the senior Congress leader said, adding that their job was made easier thanks to the outburst of BJP after the vote in the Lok Sabha.

The government eventually won in the Rajya Sabha with the help of 15-member BSP, which had walked out of the Lok Sabha during voting on the issue. UPA has 94 members in the upper house, which has an effective strength of 244. The Opposition motion on FDI in retail was defeated by 109 to 123 votes in favour of UPA.